Friday, December 03, 2010

Louisiana Style Pasta -- Cheesecake Factory kind

I don't know about you but I love the Louisiana Style Chicken Pasta at Cheesecake Factory. I love it so much that it is the dish I always have when I am there.


Not that I am there a lot.

I mean I would love to be there always but they have this 40 minute waiting time and my kids are not really the waiting kinds and though I can wait till infinity to have that pasta, my kids have better things to do.

Maybe I just have way too much time on hand. Maybe I should find myself better things to do.Like ordering a dessert next time I am there. This Pasta makes me so full that I always skip dessert.

Or like googling for Louisiana style Chicken pasta instead of waiting for it. Taking matter into my own hands.Having my Pasta and eating it too. Not all kinds of pasta. But hey Louisiana, here I come.

So this is the star recipe that came to my rescue. I will be eternally grateful to this lady for coming up with this thing and though I mangled her recipe and put my signature touches all over it, the credit goes only to her.

Also I totally skipped the chicken part since there was none. I asked the other adult to get me some chicken breasts when I started cooking this, which is 9:15 PM yesterday night to be exact. But he ignored. I didn't even ask him to hunt for it, to just get it from the grocer's but he still ignored. Men just aren't the same anymore.They don't gather food, they just eat it.



Heat 2 tbsp Olive Oil in a skillet. Recipe said 1 tbsp butter but you know me.
Chop 3/4 th of a small red onion in small pieces and add to skillet.
Follow suit with 2-3 cloves of garlic minced.


When the onion is soft add
1 red bell pepper chopped in small pieces
1/2 of a green bell pepper or 1 small yellow bell pepper chopped in small pieces.
1 cup of sliced mushroom

Saute for about 4-5 minutes till the veggies soften.


Now the spices.

Add
1 tsp crushed red pepper or 2 Dry red chili crushed. Adjust as needed and increase if you have no fear of red pepper.


More spices. Since this was Cajun cooking D decided we need to skip Basil which the recipe had and add these spices instead. Again we did not have Basil and at 9:15 PM yesterday D ignored my plea to get basil from the grocer's so he came up with his theory about Louisiana people not using Basil and such.

1/4 tsp of Dry Roasted Cumin powder 
1 tsp of All spice roughly crushed(optional)
1/2-1 tsp of fresh Black Pepper powder
Note: If you have a store bought Cajun spice powder, you can just use that instead

Saute for 2-3 minutes


Add
1/4 pint of heavy cream + 1/2 cup Milk -- Recipe said 1&1/4 pint of whipping cream
1 cup of water -- Recipe said 1 cup of chicken stock
Simmer until it comes to a slow boil. Now cover and at medium heat let it simmer for 5 minutes or so till sauce thickens a little.
Note: You need to add the cream as per the original recipe if you want a creamier sauce. I liked my low cal version though.

Meanwhile cook Bow Tie Pasta according to package directions




Back to the sauce.

Recipe said to add 4tbsp of Minced fresh basil which we skipped because no Basil @home.
Add about 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese to the sauce. Stir to mix.

Check for seasonings and adjust salt and pepper. This is a must, the adjusting.

Simmer sauce till it thickens. Should not be runny.



Drain and add pasta to the skillet tossing gently to mix the pasta with the sauce.I added the pasta gradually mixing to make sure that the sauce was enough to coat the pasta.

I did not use the whole box, about a cup of cooked pasta did not find its way into the sauce.




The delicious Pasta is ready, sitting there hot and pretty.



Eat it and fall in love. You deserve it. Maybe add some more grated Parmigiano. Life in December is all about good food.

I will send this in to join Presto Pasta Night started by Ruth and hosted by Rachel at The Crispy Cook.

17 comments:

  1. Yummy yummy pasta though we don't have this cheesefactory place. I am gonna give the recipe for S to make as this is something she can make as it ask so little ingridients, ofcourse she will make without the mushrooms.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love their cakes but hate the food and the waiting time and the damage it does to the wallet.

    But this pasta really does look delcious.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HC

    Yeah it will be a breeze for S to make at the dorm. Ask her to do the chicken too

    Indo

    I do like their food. I am not a big fan of American food but I love the food here. But then again I have hardly tried anything else on their menu other than the pasta and the different appetizers.
    The wait time is horrible.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cheesecake factory is far from my place. Well never tried their food! This Louisiana style makes me wonder the pasta should be spicy :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yumm, cant take my eyes from the clicks, irresistible..

    ReplyDelete
  6. your step by step recipe is making me want it right now. Wow, looks delicious :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. this looks amazing. bookmarked :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cheesecake factory.. I love the desserts there! Actually the place I go to has two branches in the same city.. so they do not have super long wait times at all. Never had this pasta though.. looks yum. Glad you found a way to have your fav dish!

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Men just aren't the same anymore.They don't gather food, they just eat it." - ROFL! That's really a nice line!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yummy looking pasta out there!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sandeepa

    Everytime I think my comment starts with the same sentence. So I decided to go for a change this time. ....I loved the look and recipe of the pasta, but enjoyed over the 'men are no longer the same....they do not gather food any more, they just eat"...he he he ...very well said I must say.My hubby has simply lost touch with market in last 4 yrs due to many reasons... By mistake, last month I requested him to pick up some fish from the local fish guy on his way back... and then came a panic call....it is very expensive here, etc etc... after 15 yrs of marriage I know when it is meaningless to argue... so I sounded concerned and asked him to come back with just the basic carp(pona) and said, will buy next week when price is lower.... ha ha ha he has no clue what inflation has done to monthly budget...lucky man I must admit.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It looks so colourful San! Hope you are doing well. "Men aren't the same anymore!" LOL!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love this version of pasta (which Big Chill here have perfected) and make it all the time - except I add 1/4 cream, 1/2 milk and 1/4th cheese and get the same lovely creaminess!

    The different coloured bell peppers look really good....and yes, I often skip dessert at Big Chill because the pasta is just too filling for words - and their desserts are to die for, but what does one do!

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow!!!!! gotta try this.thanks for the step by step pics.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like this pasta at CCF as well.. thanks so much for sharing the recipe.. will try this soon.

    BTW - u r so right about Men :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. what a recipe ! shall try it soon .

    ReplyDelete
  17. bookmarked. excellent blog, I must say. And I thank my bro for recommending this blog..
    will try th erecipes here one by one.. though some I have already tried at home, thanks to mom!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your Comments. I hope you will be nice and not Spam.